Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Our Lord Jesus rebukes Satan after his trying to tempt Our Lord during His 40 days of fasting and praying in the desert. "Begone, Satan! for it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.'" Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. [Matthew 4:10-11].

Academicians, let's conclude our look into how we engage the Evil One in SPIRITUAL COMBAT. This post will be a "bookend" for our brief "fact file" series on Satan. However, we are not finished with this: Because Satan is not finished with us.

Please see my message below, at the close of this post.

On a day-to-day, minute-to-minute basis,
how can we fight this powerfully deceitful,
dishonest, tireless, raging angelic being, Satan?

P R A Y !

How can the Holy Spirit help you grow in knowledge of Our Lord Jesus and God His Father if you never make any time for Him? If you wish to learn more about a friend, you "hang out" with that person. Isn't the Lord Jesus entitled to your time a few times a day?

Repeat a short prayer (traditionally called an ejaculatory prayer):

"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner."

"O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell, and lead all Souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Your Mercy."

"Satan, in the name of Jesus Christ, depart from me." Say this when you feel you're being tempted to do, say, or think something that denies God's Holy Presence dwelling within you or within others.

Say the Prayer to Saint Michael The Archangel:
The late Pope John Paul II recommended all Catholics to pray it:

"May prayer strengthen us for the spiritual battle we are told about in the Letter to the Ephesians: 'Draw strength from the Lord and from His mighty power' (Ephesians 6:10). The Book of Revelation refers to this same battle, recalling before our eyes the image of St. Michael the Archangel (Revelation 12:7). Pope Leo XIII certainly had a very vivid recollection of this scene when, at the end of the last century, he introduced a special prayer to St. Michael throughout the Church. Although this prayer is no longer recited at the end of Mass, I ask everyone not to forget it and to recite it to obtain help in the battle against forces of darkness and against the spirit of this world." (April 1994)

God has established only one enmity - but it is an irreconcilable one - which will last and even go on increasing to the end of time. That enmity is between Mary, his worthy Mother, and the devil, between the children and the servants of the Blessed Virgin and the children and followers of Lucifer. Thus the most fearful enemy that God has set up against the devil is Mary, his holy Mother. From the time of the earthly paradise, although she existed then only in his mind, he gave her such a hatred for his accursed enemy, such ingenuity in exposing the wickedness of the ancient serpent and such power to defeat, overthrow and crush this proud rebel, that Satan fears her not only more than angels and men but in a certain sense more than God himself. This does not mean that the anger, hatred and power of God are not infinitely greater than the Blessed Virgin's, since her attributes are limited. It simply means that Satan, being so proud, suffers infinitely more in being vanquished and punished by a lowly and humble servant of God, for her humility humiliates him more than the power of God. Moreover, God has given Mary such great power over the evil spirits that, as they have often been forced unwillingly to admit through the lips of possessed persons, they fear one of her pleadings for a soul more than the prayers of all the saints, and one of her threats more than all their other torments.

What Lucifer lost by pride Mary won by humility. What Eve ruined and lost by disobedience Mary saved by obedience. By obeying the serpent, Eve ruined her children as well as herself and delivered them up to him. Mary by her perfect fidelity to God saved her children with herself and consecrated them to his divine majesty.

The Holy Rosary is our most effective weapon against Satan.
Satan and the fallen angels fear the power of the Holy Virgin Mary.
The conquering power of praying the Rosary as a weapon against Satan has been demonstrated over and over in Exorcisms.

Go to Confession: take advantage of the Sacrament of Reconciliation:
Not only is confession a very important part of spiritual growth, it is truly good for the soul." Approach a priest you feel comfortable with; ask if he can be a spiritual adviser for you. The supernatural grace we receive in the Sacrament of Reconciliation is the source of our strength of will against temptations to betray Jesus and His Kingdom.
Can you afford NOT to have His strength for the battle?

Perform Acts of Penance, Fasting, and Self-Denial:Fast from food.
Fast from TV, iPods, videos, video games, computers, the Internet, "texting", messaging, chatting on your mobile phone.
Fast from complaining, from speaking uncharitably about others, from gossip. Fast from shopping, or from popular coffee beverages, soda, cigarettes. Instead of driving someplace, walk there and walk back again.

Perform Acts of Charity and Generosity:
And this does not mean only donating money to the poor and needy. It also means donating your time and presence:
Visit shut-in, sick, housebound friends, relatives, neighbors, parishioners, and those in nursing homes, hospitals, and psychiatric clinics.Help the same persons with doing yard work, food shopping, driving them to doctors or pharmacies -- and, yes, to Mass, Benediction, and communal praying of The Rosary.

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